A U.S. federal judge has reduced the $18 million defamation award granted by a jury to Anas Aremeyaw Anas against former Assin Central lawmaker Kennedy Ohene Agyapong to just $500.
The Judge reduced the $18 million defamation award following a motion for remittitur filed by Agyapong’s legal team.
According to reports Kennedy Agyapong’s legal team contested the size of the award, prompting the court to reconsider the amount.
The judge upheld the jury’s finding that Agyapong had indeed defamed Anas, he described the monetary compensation as “excessive” and reduced the damages to $500.
Speaking about the court’s decision, Anas stated that the case was not about money, but about justice and truth.
Anas stated, “Our victory is in the judgment and not the award. It is important to state, as I previously did, that this fight has not been about the money, but rather a fight for truth and justice.”
“I am happy that not a single allegation was proven against me in court when Kennedy Agyapong was given full opportunity to substantiate”
“I will continue in my relentless fight against corruption—and in doing that, continue to name, shame, and jail”, he added.
A Superior Court of New Jersey awarded investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas $18 million in his defamation suit against former member of parliament Kennedy Agyapong and Social media commentator Frederick Asamoah.
The court judgement comes after a legal battle over alleged defamatory statements made by Kennedy Agyapong during a 2021 interview.
Anas filed the lawsuit on May 17, 2022, in the Essex County Superior Court, accusing Kennedy Agyapong and Frederick Asamoah.
He accused them of a false and damaging statement made during an episode of “The Daddy Fred Show”.
Kennedy Agyapong during the show made a series of false claims, including accusing Anas of being a criminal, a thief, and responsible for the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed Suale.
Ahmed Suale was tragically shot and killed in a ride-by shooting near his home in Madina, a suburb of the capital, Accra after Kennedy Agyapong’s utterances.
It is believed that the 31-year-old Ahmed was assassinated due to the investigative work he did with the Tiger Eye PI team and Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
The court documents highlighted several specific allegations Kennedy Agyapoang made against Anas, falsely claiming that Anas had been convicted of crimes in Ghana, and accusing Anas of orchestrating Ahmed Suale’s murder. Asserting that Anas was responsible for the deaths of multiple Chinese nationals in Ghana and labelling Anas as a thief.
The investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s US victory comes after an Accra High Court in Ghana on March 15 dismissed the GH¢25 million defamation suit against Kennedy Agyapong brought by Anas.
The judge, Justice Eric Baah, asserted that Anas Aremeyaw Anas failed to prove that Ken Agyapong defamed him by airing the documentary “Who Watches the Watchman”. The Judge rather added that the documentary exposed shady deals that Anas and his associates were involved in.
The Accra High Court concluded that what Anas was engaged in was not investigative journalism but rather “investigative terrorism” and that Mr Agyapong was vindicated in calling Anas “a blackmailer, corrupt, an extortionist, and evil”.
See the post below:
Judge reduces the $18 million defamation award granted to Anas against Kennedy Agyapong to $500… #GHOneNews #EIBNetwork #GHOneTV #NewsAlert pic.twitter.com/T7nDiWlnUH
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) May 12, 2025
